Simon Boyleau
Simon Boyleau (
Biography
Nothing is known of his early life. A French origin is indicated by three bits of evidence: his name, a dedication he left in a manuscript book of madrigals, in which he said he was of French nationality, and a comment by the Paduan publisher of his 1546 collection of madrigals for four voices that he was French.[1] During this period many musicians from France and the Low Countries came to Italy after receiving their early musical training in the north; employment and patronage prospects were greater in Italy throughout most of the 16th century.
Although the exact events are not documented, scholars have inferred that Boyleau probably spent his first Italian years in Venice, due to musical influences seen in his work as well as their publication history. In 1551 he became maestro di cappella (choirmaster) at Milan Cathedral, his earliest documented post; he held this position until 1557, at which time he was replaced by Hoste da Reggio. Boyleau's next position was as maestro di cappella at the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso, also in Milan; he was the first documented maestro di cappella at this institution,[2] and he stayed there until around 1569. In 1572 Milan Cathedral hired him again, first as assistant to Vincenzo Ruffo, and then as maestro di cappella, the job he had left (or been dismissed from) fifteen years before. The Cathedral dismissed him again in 1577.[1]
Boyleau had long had close ties with the court of
Music and influence
Boyleau wrote both sacred and secular music. Everything which has survived is vocal, although some of his compositions were later intabulated for instruments.[1]
His sacred music was conservative and tended to be modest, as could be expected for a musician working in Milan, the home of Cardinal
Boyleau's secular music consists of
References
- James Haar, Lucia Marchi: "Simon Boyleau", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed February 18, 2008), (subscription access)
- Mariangela Donà, "Milan", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed February 18, 2008), (subscription access)
- ISBN 0-393-09530-4
- Allan W. Atlas, Renaissance Music: Music in Western Europe, 1400–1600. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1998. ISBN 0-393-97169-4
- Alfred Einstein, The Italian Madrigal. Three volumes. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1949. ISBN 0-691-09112-9
- Christine Getz, "Simon Boyleau and the Church of the 'Madonna of Miracles': Educating and Cultivating the Aristocratic Audience in Post-Tridentine Milan." Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 126 No. 2. 2001. ISSN 0269-0403
- Jane A. Bernstein, Music Printing in Renaissance Venice: The Scotto Press (1539–1572). Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-510231-2